The National Park Service recently announced that it will open up an early access lottery pilot program for North Pines Campground in Yosemite National Park. The lottery will apply to reservations from July 21 to August 14. The regular reservation period for these dates opens on March 15, 2022; however winners of the early access lottery will be able to make reservations from February 18 to March 10, prior to the general reservation period. Continue reading
Tag Archives: california
Yosemite National Park Moves to Reservation System for 2021
Yosemite Falls
Entrance permits are no longer required for Yosemite National Park.
Beginning on May 21, 2021 Yosemite National Park will require day-use visitors to hold a reservation to enter the park. Visitors who have camping or lodging reservations will not be required to have day-use reservations. Continue reading
San Francisco Residents Seek Injunctive Relief for Inaccessible Lyft Services
On the surface it would seem that rideshare services like Lyft would make accessible transportation more available to people with disabilities. But that’s definitely not the case in the San Francisco area, and DRA Legal is trying to do something about it. More specifically they filed a class action lawsuit against Lyft last month, in an effort to compel the company to provide wheelchair-accessible services in the San Francisco area. Continue reading
Yosemite National Park Closure Update
As the government shutdown enters the second week, the national parks that have remained open are starting to suffer the consequences of limited staffing. Yosemite is no exception, and as a result park officials recently announced more closures and restrictions in the park. Continue reading
Deal Directly with National Park Concessionaires for Best Access
Lake Yellowstone Hotel
Researching national park access can be tedious, especially where lodging is concerned. National park lodges are operated by concessionaires, who operate under strict guidelines, and are responsible for the repair, improvement and daily operation of the facilities. Continue reading
Safari West Loses Accessible Bus in Wildfire
Accessible tent cabin at Safari West will reopen in 2018.
Safari West – a favorite attraction of mine – partially reopened their facilities last month after the Tubbs Fire ravaged Sonoma county. Although much of the land surrounding this wild animal preserve was parched by the fire, the good news is that no animals at Safari West were injured or killed as a result of it. Continue reading
Hot off the Press – My New Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon Book!
I’m thrilled to announce the release of my latest accessible travel title – “Barrier-Free Travel; Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks for Wheelers and Slow Walkers”. I had a great time researching this book – partly because I grew up in the area and I have fond memories of exploring Yosemite with my dad, but also because I now live close to the parks. And after 40 years of writing travel I’ve finally penned a book about my home turf! It’s about time. Continue reading
Access Upgrades in California Redwoods
All Access Trail at Hendy Woods State Park
Sometimes I just happen to stumble across cool accessible travel finds. Such was the case yesterday when Charles and I were checking out Hendy Woods. We’ve passed by this California state park many times — located off Highway 128 near Philo — but somehow we never managed to stop. Continue reading
Historic Yosemite Railroad Boasts Excellent Access
I’ve visited a wide variety of rail attractions over the past 20 years on my accessible travel beat, and I have to say that the folks at the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad (www.YMSPRR.com) really wowed me the other day. Continue reading
Access Plusses Abound in Sequoia National Park
After spending the past three weeks exploring Sequoia National Park for my next book, Barrier-Free Travel; Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks for Wheelers and Slow Walkers (www.barrierfreeyosemite.com) I’ve come away with some observations about access in this often overlooked national treasure. Of course, as with any research trip there was good and bad, but on the plus side I have to say that the good far outweighed the bad on this Sequoia visit. With that in mind here are my top three “access plusses” – access features that totally wowed me – in the land of the giant sequoias. Continue reading